A variety of article carriers have heretofore been provided for mounting on vehicles, particularly at the front or rear of a vehicle to enable a variety of articles such as bicycles, motorcycles, skis and the like to the vehicle to increase the carrying capacity of the vehicle.
In general, there are a number of article carriers that have a number of mounting arms that bolt to a vehicle frame such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,201.
A number of article carriers particularly suitable for bicycles have heretofore been devised. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,676,414 and 3,853,255 disclose a carrier member that has a horizontally disposed end portion that is particularly suited for being telescopically received in a horizontally disposed trailer hitch affixed to the frame of a vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,410 discloses a motorcycle carrier assembly wherein a first plate adapted to fit on a trailer hitch tongue is affixed to the bottom of a carrier shaft and a second plate fits under the first plate and two fastening bolts extend through the plates to secure the carrier assembly to the trailer hitch. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,301,953 and 4,380,344 disclose a device that attaches to the tongue using the trailer hitch ball that has an upper carrier member that telescopes in a socket.